MMA operator members grateful for gift of cleaning equipment

Cordless Electrostatic Sprayers are pricey and hard to come by these days as demand exceeds supply.

MMA President Al Spence (left) with Tim Wilson from Academy Bus.

So members of the Maryland Motorcoach Association (MMA) are grateful their association not only secured a batch but provided them each one for free. 

“It’s a great benefit to all of the operator members,” said Lauren Grote, with Rill’s Bus Service in Westminster, Maryland. “We have all been hit so hard by the pandemic with little to no revenue over the past few months coming in, and with all of the requirements for disinfecting our equipment and offices, these sprayers are a tremendous help to our businesses.”

All 34 members received a handheld Victory Innovations Cordless Electrostatic Sprayer and a 5-gallon container of cleaning solution. This one-time membership benefit is valued at more than $1,195. 

 The MMA Board of Directors wanted to do something meaningful for its members, who are struggling along with motorcoach operators across the country during the pandemic. 

Patented technology

The Victory Sprayers’ patented technology works by creating an electrical charge to solutions, allowing them to wrap conductive surfaces with an effective and even coverage. Double-charged particles envelope all conductive surfaces — shadowed, vertical and underneath. 

Todd Campbell demonstrates the Victory Sprayer.

The chemical solution is environmentally friendly while eliminating viruses, bacteria, and spores. The electrostatic sprayers will be able to effectively treat a 45-foot motorcoach with less than 8 ounces of the chemical, at a cost of about $2.50.  

 “Over the years, MMA has had much success, due to our Annual Marketplace, events and wise investments,” said MMA President Al Spence, owner of AS Midway Trailways. “MMA strives to assist its members, and the epic nature of this pandemic is certainly a reason to help our members when they can use it.”

 Ordered early

The sprayers were bought from Todd Campbell, President of EZ DISSAN in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.  

Todd Campbell demonstrates the Victory sprayer MMA members.

Campbell said he was fortunate because he sent his orders in early. The motorcoach operator just wanted to get his fleet of buses back on the road, so he signed up as a Victory distributor in late March and put in an order. In the following weeks, the wait times at Victory grew exponentially for the imports.

When he started the distributorship, he began reaching out to state motorcoach associations.

Mary Presley, MMA Executive Administrator, asked him to do a demonstration for members when the group did a mask giveaway. 

“We basically took Todd Campbell’s first shipment,” said Presley, explaining that EZ DISSAN came through with the best price and the quickest delivery. “Everybody else was telling me late September or October. We wanted it to happen sooner than that for our members.”

Needed quickly

Many of the MMA members do line runs and school bus transportation, so they needed the sprayers quickly. The association made videos and had professional photos taken that members can use to promote their cleaning efforts on social media and their websites.

Campbell expects his second order of handheld sprayers to sell out quickly. He has backpack versions arriving at the end of the month.  The handhelds sell for $999, and the backpacks for $1,999.

For now, his distributorship income is outpacing revenues generated by Campbell Bus Lines, the Pennsylvania business started by his dad 53 years ago. Over the decades, it has grown to a fleet of 75 school buses and 22 motorcoaches. He is hopeful that business will pick up when colleges and K-12 schools resume in the coming weeks. 

Add-on purchases

In addition to receiving a free sprayer, Grote purchased two — and more cleaning solution — from Campbell. 

“We were exploring our options and looking at pricing, and trying to figure out the cost and how we would pay for it, so when Maryland Motorcoach offered the sprayers at no cost to the member operators, that was a huge benefit. I cannot say thank you enough,” Grote said. 

Rill’s Bus Service has been a member of MMA for more than 30 years. Grote is a third-generation member of the business that has five motorcoaches and 38 school buses. 

In July, the company had one school bus job, a wedding shuttle, and a motorcoach casino trip. In August, two coaches are scheduled for a retail trip to Smith Island. They will run at 50% capacity so there will be socially distancing.

“We’ll be using the sprayer to clean the buses before and after each trip to ensure the safety of our precious cargo,” Grote said. 

 

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